Back rest



Dec. 17, 1963 E. F. HAMILTON 3,114,578

BACK REST Filed Sept. 27, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. EARL E HAMILTON,

BY A as-L dwlwks iw;

ATTORNEYS.

Dec. 17, 1963 Filed Sept. 27, 1962 E. F. HAMILTON 3,114,578

BACK BEST 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. EARL F HAMILTON, BY

ATTORNEYS- United States Patent Ofi."

3,ll4,578 Patented Dec. 17, 1963 3,114,578 BAQK REST Earl F. Hamilton, Columbus, Ind, assignor to Hamilton Cosco, inc, Columbus, Ind, a corporation of lndiana Filed Sept. 27, 1962, Ser. No. 226,650 6 Claims. (Q1, 297-460) This invention relates to a back rest, and more particularly to a back rest for a chair or the like.

It is an object of my invention to provide a back rest for a chair or the like which will have an attractive appearance, which can be economically manufactured from inexpensive metal-tubing and sheet-metal, which will prove sturdy and durable in use, and which will be comfortable to a person reclining thereagainst.

According to the preferred form of my invention, I provide a back rest mounted on any suitable seat and base assembly. {laid back rest comprises a pair of laterally spaced uprights having vertically spaced aligned openings formed in their opposed inwardly presented faces for the reception of a plurality of vertically spaced transversely extending slats. Each of said slats is provided with a rearwardly bowed intermediate stretch having a. pair of tongues at its opposite ends received in a pair of the openings formed in said uprights. Said tongues are offset relative to said intermediate stretch and are provided with offset fingers engaging the inner Walls of said uprights. Desirably, the uprights are deformed inwardly adjacent the openings formed therein and such deformations act in combination with said fingers and tongues to rigidly interconnect said slats to the uprights.

Other objects and features of my invention will become apparent from the more detailed description which follows and from the accompanying drawings, in which:

*lG. 1 is a front elevation of a chair having a back rest embodying my invention mounted thereon;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged rear elevation of the back rest shown in FIG. 1, but with portions thereof being broken away;

FIG. 3 is an enlanged vertical section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

H6. 4 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 1; and

PEG. 5 is an enlarged isometric view of one of the slats.

My back rest may be used in combination with any desired type of chair sea lit and supporting legs 12, and may be mounted on the seat and/or legs in any convenient manner. In the chair illustrated in the drawings, the lateral members of the back rest are connected to the seat and project downwardly therefrom to form the front chair legs.

As shown in FIG. 1, my back rest projects upwardly from the chair seat id at the rear thereof and comprises a back frame 14 conveniently formed from a length of metal-tubing bent in a U-shaped configuration to provide an upper big ht l6 interconnecting a pair of laterally spaced uprights 18 extending downwardly therefrom. A plurality of vertically spaced, horizontally aligned rectilinear slots 29 are formed in opposed inwardly presented faces of the uprights 18.

A plurality of slats 24 extend transversely across the back rest and are received in the pairs of horizontally aligned upright slots it As shown, each of the slats is conveniently formed as a sheet-metal stamping and comprises an elongated intermediate stretch 26 interconnecting a pair of outwardly projecting planar tongues 28 forming the slat ends and received in the slots 20. The intermediate stretch 26 has an arcuate cross-section with its convex face presented forwardly, and said stretch is bowed rearwardly between the tongues 28 to conform to the contour of a persons back resting thereaigainst.

The tongues 23 are offset relative to the bowed intermediate stretch 26 and have lengths corresponding to the Widths of the uprights 1 8 so that upon insertion of said tongues into the slots 26' the remote ends of said tongues will be disposed immediately adjacent the inner walls of said upright and the ends of the intermediate stretches 26' will abut the inwardly presented faces of the uprights 18 adjacent said slots. As shown in FIG. 4, each of the tongues 28 has an obliquely angled finger 30' struck outwardly therefrom adjacent its juncture with the intermediate stretch. The fingers Stl angle toward the center of the slats and are spaced from the remote ends of the tongues 28 a distance approximating the internal diame ter of the uprights is so that said fingers and tongues are disposed immediately adjacent the opposed inner Walls of the uprights 18 for retaining the slats in a fixed posi- .tion on said uprights.

The slats 24 are further rigidly mounted on the uprights 18 by pinching the rearwardly presented upright faces inwardly, as at 31, along the edges of the slots 29. The deformations 31 are formed in the uprights after the tongues 28 have been inserted into the slots 29 and said deformations cause said slots to bear against the tongues 28 to insure against the tongues pulling out of said slots.

I claim:

1. In a back rest for a chair or the like,

(a) 3. frame connected to said chair or the like and having a pair of laterally spaced tubular uprights,

(b) the opposed inwardly presented faces of said uprights having a plurality of ventica-Hy spaced horizontally aligned slots formed therein,

(0) a plurality of vertically spaced, transversely extending slats rigidly mounted on said uprights,

(d) each of said slats having an intermediate stretch interconnecting a pair of ofiset tongues received in a pair of said slots, and

(e) each of said tongues having a finger projecting therefrom and disposed immediately adjacent an inner wall of the upright in which its associated tongue is received.

2. The invention as set forth in claim 1 in which (a) the distance between the outwardly projecting ends of said fingers and the ends of said tongues approximate the distance between the opposed inner walls of said tubular uprights.

3. In a back rest for a chair or the like,

(a) a frame connected to said chair or the like and having a pair of laterally spaced tubular uprights,

(b) the opposed inwardly presented faces of said uprights having a plurality of vertically spaced horizontally aligned rectilinear slots formed therein,

(0) a plurality of vertically spaced, transversely eX- tending slats rigidly mounted on said uprights,

(d) each of said slats having a rearward-1y bowed intermediate stretch with an arcuate cross-sectional configuration interconnecting a pair of generally planar tongues, and

(2) each of said tongues being received in one of said slots with the adjacent end of its associated intermediate stretch abutting the face of the upright in which said slot is formed.

4. The invention as set forth in claim 3 with the addition that (a) each of said tongues is provided with an outwardly projecting finger carried within the extent of one of said uprights and disposed immediately adjacent the inner Wall of said upright.

5. In a back rest for a chair or the like,

(a) a frame connected to said chair or the like and having a pair of laterally spaced tubular uprights,

(b) the opposed inwardly presented faces of said uprights having a plurality 0t vertically spaced horizontally aligned slots formed therein,

(0) a plurality of vertically spaced, transversely extending slats -ri"idly mounted on said uprights,

(:1) each of said slats having an intermediate stretch interconnecting a pair of ofiset tongues received in a pair of said slots,

(e) each of said tongues having a finger projecting therefrom and disposed immediately adjacent an inner wall of the upright in which its associated tongue is received, and

(f) said uprights having deformations formed therein at each of said slots whereby the edges of said slots will bear against said tongues.

6. In a back rest for a chair or the like,

(a) a tubular back frame having a generally inverted U-shape comprising a pair of uprights interconnected at their upper ends by a rearwardly bowed bight,

(b) the opposed inwardly presented faces of said uprights having a plurality of vertically spaced, horizontally aligned slats formed therein,

(c) a plurality of vertically 5; seed transversely extending slots rigidly mounted on said uprights,

(d) each of said slats having a rearwardly bowed intermediate stretch with an arcuate cross-sectional cenfiguration interconnecting a pair of generally planar tongues received in a pair of said slots,

(2) each of said tongues having a finger projecting therefrom and disposed immediately adiacent an inner wall of the upright in which its associated tongue is received, and

(1) said uprights having deformations formed therein at each of said slots whereby the edges of said slots will bear against said tongues.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,240,330 Flagg et a1. Apr. 29, 1941 2,851,090 Hamilton Sept. 9, 1953 2,866,676 Goebel Dec. 30, 1958 

1. IN A BACK REST FOR A CHAIR OR THE LIKE, (A) A FRAME CONNECTED TO SAID CHAIR OR THE LIKE AND HAVING A PAIR OF LATERALLY SPACED TUBULAR UPRIGHTS, (B) THE OPPOSED INWARDLY PRESENTED FACES OF SAID UPRIGHTS HAVING A PLURALITY OF VERTICALLY SPACED HORIZONTALLY ALIGNED SLOTS FORMED THEREIN, (C) A PLURALITY OF VERTICALLY SPACED, TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING SLATS RIGIDLY MOUNTED ON SAID UPRIGHTS, (D) EACH OF SAID SLATS HAVING AN INTERMEDIATE STRETCH INTERCONNECTING A PAIR OF OFFSET TONGUES RECEIVED IN A PAIR OF SAID SLOTS, AND (E) EACH OF SAID TONGUES HAVING A FINGER PROJECTING THEREFROM AND DISPOSED IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT AN INNER WALL OF THE UPRIGHT IN WHICH ITS ASSOCIATED TONGUE IS RECEIVED. 